Departmental Manpower

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the responsibilities of each member of his media and communications team are; when each member of staff was recruited; and what the salary of each member of staff is.

Ann McKechin: The responsibilities of the Press Office at the Scotland Office are shared by two staff, recruited in September 2006 and March 2007. Both are on secondment from the Ministry of Justice.
	The Press Office is responsible for a wide range of civil service communications functions.
	To protect the privacy of individual staff, data relating to fewer than five people is not disclosed.

Nuclear Power: Insurance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 12 January,  Official Report, column 124W, on nuclear power: insurance, for what reasons the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has located its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rutherford Indemnity Ltd, in Guernsey.

Mike O'Brien: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) did not make a decision to locate Rutherford Indemnity Ltd. in Guernsey. It was located there when it was owned by BNFL before it was transferred to the NDA, when the NDA became the owners of the plant and facilities of BNFL with effect from 1 April 2005.

Plastic Bags

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to enable local authorities to require local retailers to reduce significantly their use of single-use carrier bags; and whether he plans to enable local authorities to prohibit the use of single-use carrier bags in  (a) their areas and  (b) specific circumstances.

Jane Kennedy: The Government have no such plans. It would be illegal under EU law to prohibit the use of bags, and the Government have no plans to do so or empower local authorities to do so. A very significant reduction in the number of single-use carriers distributed by supermarkets is in prospect following the agreement reached between the Government and the British Retail Consortium in December, under which leading supermarkets have pledged to reduce bags by 50 per cent. by the spring.

Waste Disposal: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects Gloucestershire County Council to provide its full business case for its waste strategy.

Jane Kennedy: Gloucestershire county council submitted their outline business case to DEFRA at the end of April 2008 and private finance initiative (PFI) credit support for their project was provisionally approved by the Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, (Joan Ruddock) in August 2008. The project was considered by the cross-departmental Project Review Group (PRG) at its meeting on 21 October 2008 and provisionally approved subject to certain conditions. DEFRA made an announcement on this PFI application on 12 November 2008.
	It is standard practice for PFI projects to submit final business cases to the sponsor Department, before the appointment of preferred bidder. In this case, this is expected to be in late 2010.

Economic Downturn

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the effect of the economic downturn on the budget for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The recent economic climate has affected the financing of the Olympic Village and the International Broadcasting Centre/Main Press Centre (IBC/MOC) projects.
	However the venues and infrastructure for the games—including the Olympic Village and the IBC/MPC—are still on track to be delivered within the £9.325 billion public sector funding package.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 58W, on departmental air travel, whether figures for 2007-08 have now been calculated.

Jonathan R Shaw: The air travel figures for the Department for 2007-08, and which are due to be paid imminently to the 'GCO2F Government Carbon Offsetting Fund', are provided in the following table.
	All departmental official travel is undertaken in accordance with civil service management code.
	
		
			  April 2007 to March 2008 
			   KMs travelled  Miles travelled  tCO 2 e (CO 2  emissions)  Offsetting cost( 1) (£) 
			 Domestic air travel 12,599,850.34 7,825,994 2169.95 21,504.17 
			 Short-haul air travel 1,047,032.91 650,331 297.64 2,949.63 
			 Long-haul air travel 1,397,087.16 867,756 321.62 3,187.26 
			 Total 15,043,970.41 9,344,081.00 2789.21 27,641.06 
			 (1) To be paid by DWP to GCO2F.

Jobcentres

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1993-94W, on jobcentres, what estimate he has made of the number of people using jobcentres in each year since 2002.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available.

Departmental Vehicles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 883W, on departmental vehicles, what types and makes of vehicles were maintained in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The following types and makes of vehicles were maintained in each of the last five years. These figures exclude the Department's agencies and Executive non-departmental public bodies.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Leased n/a n/a Renault Kangoo Van Renault Kangoo Van Renault Kangoo Van 
			 Leased Volvo S80 Volvo S80 BMW 5 Series BMW 5 Series BMW 5 Series 
			 Leased n/a n/a SEAT Leon SEAT Leon SEAT Leon 
			 Leased n/a n/a Ford Transit Ford Transit Ford Transit 
			 Leased 4 x Vauxhall Omegas 4 x Vauxhall Omegas 3 x Volvo S80s 3 x Volvo S80s 3 x Volvo S80s 
			 Leased Ford Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ford Mondeo Ford Mondeo 
			   
			 Owned Renault Kangoo Van Renault Kangoo Van Renault Kangoo Van Renault Kangoo Van n/a 
			 Owned Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra Vauxhall Vectra n/a 
			 Owned Vauxhall Van Vauxhall Van Vauxhall Van Vauxhall Van n/a 
			 Owned Ford Tractor Ford Tractor Ford Tractor Ford Tractor Ford Tractor 
			 Owned Massey Ferguson Tractor Massey Ferguson Tractor Massey Ferguson Tractor Massey Ferguson Tractor Massey Ferguson Tractor 
			 Owned Holland Tractor Holland Tractor Holland Tractor Holland Tractor Holland Tractor 
		
	
	The type of car chosen reflects a range of factors including fuel efficiency, safety standard and practical usage. Where possible, when a lease is up for renewal, we could consider all options in reducing costs to the Department while maintaining the standard required.

Business Improvement Districts

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 508-09W, on local authorities: business, what additional business rate multiplier is applied in each of the business improvement districts.

John Healey: There are no additional business rate multipliers applied to each of the business improvement districts (BIDs). Businesses within the BID area agree to pay an additional levy on top of their standard business rate bill.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Sadiq Khan: CLG and its Agencies are using the new standard Office of Government Commerce clauses in new contracts that involve the handling of personal data and reviews of documentation on existing contracts are being carried out.
	The Department and its Agencies have assessed their delivery chains and have conducted reviews of contractors' adherence to data handling requirements. All contracts are currently assessed as compliant or close to compliance.
	In some cases CLG HQ security staff have been or are directly involved in visits to contractors to assess data handling procedures.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 25 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 233-4W, on local authorities: grants, what the grant per capita to each local authority  (a) was in 2008-09 and  (b) is expected to be in 2009-10; and what the average grant per capita to (i) district councils, (ii) unitary councils, (iii) county councils, (iv) metropolitan councils and (v) London boroughs (1) was in 2008-09 and (2) is expected to be in 2009-10.

John Healey: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing this information for 2008-09 budget estimates. The information for 2009-10 budget estimates is not yet available.

Housing: Low Incomes

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 507-8W, on housing: low incomes, what type of property attribute or information the field, valuation cloned or not, signifies.

John Healey: The cloned valuation field indicates whether or not a valuation provided by a landlord in the National Register of Social Housing data for a particular dwelling was produced directly from a survey of that dwelling or by comparison with similar dwellings with a previously determined valuation.

Local Government: Bank Services

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, column 511W, on local government: bank services, what estimate has been made of the financial losses to local authorities from the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

John Healey: According to the liquidators for the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, local authorities held deposits of £77.243 million on the date the bank entered liquidation in January 1992. This was approximately $143 million at the rate of exchange in January 1992.
	Dividends have been paid out in US dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between dollars and sterling means that local authorities (and other claimants with funds originally held in sterling) have received almost 97 per cent. of their original balance, if converting their US dollars back into pounds at the rate applicable on the date of the declared dividend. This is higher than the 86.5 per cent. set out in my previous answer, which is the percentage in US dollars.
	It is anticipated that there will be a final dividend paid out, but the liquidators are currently unable to confirm when this will become available or what the value will be.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 351W, on non-domestic rates: ports, what the aggregate rateable value in respect of each port in England and Wales affected by the change in valuation was  (a) before and  (b) after the change.

John Healey: The Financial Secretary to the Treasury and I submitted a memorandum to the Treasury Select Committee on 5 November 2008 which included a table showing the aggregate changes in rateable values in ports from the review. I have placed this in the Library. It represents the most up to date complete table currently available.
	A revised table will be available at the end of January 2009 once the rating lists for the five remaining ports have been formally amended, in the light of any representations received in response to the notifications sent out by the respective valuation officers by 28 November.

Betting Shops: Licensing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2008,  Official Report, column 415W, on betting shops, how many premises licence applications for betting shops have been refused by local authorities on the grounds of proximity in relation to existing betting shops in the locality in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Local authorities are not permitted to refuse applications for premises licences on the grounds of proximity in relation to existing betting shops in the locality. They must base their decisions on the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act 2005, guidance issued by the Gambling Commission, and their own three year licensing policy statement.

Departmental Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to reply to the letter of 5 November 2008 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent (ref CMS/108315/asg).

Gerry Sutcliffe: I replied to the letter of 5 November from the hon. Member for Walsall, North on 15 December 2008. I will arrange for a copy to be sent.

Departmental Internet

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 549W, on the Departmental internet, what the initial costing of including return path functionality in digital set-top boxes made by the technical experts on his Department's Emerging Technology Group was; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The technical experts' estimate was that introducing return path functionality to a set-top box to provide internet connectivity would add an additional £40-£80 to the cost per box. The Emerging Technologies Group is chaired by an official from my Department: technical expertise is provided by members representing the BBC, Digital UK and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Departmental Plants

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 138W, on departmental plants, how much his Department has spent on  (a) pot plants since March 2008 and  (b) flowers in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department has spent the following amounts on:
	 (a) Pot Plants
	April 2008 to December 2008: £10,110.01
	 (b) Flowers
	April 2006 to March 2007: £652.05
	April 2007 to March 2008: £665.76
	April 2008 to December 2008: £499.32
	Information prior to 2006 is not available.

Members: Correspondence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will reply to the hon. Member for Luton South's letter of 10 July 2008 about Mr R. Fisk of Luton.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. The Department has no record of receiving the original correspondence. A duplicate copy was requested and received on 17 October 2008. I responded on 13 January 2009.

Playing Fields: Planning Permission

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 1 November 2006,  Official Report, column 421W, on playing fields, how many planning applications have been approved affecting sites which either were too small or of the wrong shape to accommodate a playing pitch as currently defined in each year since 2004-05.

Andy Burnham: Sport England has advised that, for the years in which figures are currently available, the following number of applications were approved where the land affected was either too small or the wrong shape to accommodate a playing pitch:
	
		
			   Number of approved applications 
			 2004-05 245 
			 2005-06 314 
		
	
	Sport England does not hold any figures on applications where the playing field area may contain only a pitch less than 0.4 ha, as these would not be referred to them under the statutory instrument.

VisitBritain: Finance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding the Government has provided directly to Visit Britain in each of the last three years.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the grant in aid final outturn figures for Visit Britain in each of the last three years. These figures are published in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Resource Accounts which are audited by the NAO.
	
		
			  Visit Britain grant in aid 
			   Outturn (£000) 
			 2005-06 48,900 
			 2006-07 49,900 
			 2007-08 50,650

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of contractors and suppliers to his Department have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Ivan Lewis: To ensure compliance with the new data handling procedures in Government, the Department for International Development has introduced the mandatory data handling clauses into all relevant contracts issued from the 1 July 2008. An exercise to review existing contracts is also underway.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 22 October 2008 on behalf of a constituent regarding economic difficulties.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues, there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters of 15 October 2008 and 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on his constituent Mr. Ian Wild.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 13 November 2008, on NDFA investments via Lehman Brothers Treasury Company BV, PO reference 1/63049/2008.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters of 27 October and 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean, reference FD4347, regarding Kaupthing Isle of Man customers.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford's letter of 13 October 2008, Treasury Reference: 5/03547/2008, concerning Mr S A Mack of Chelmsford; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply.

Ian Pearson: I have replied to the hon. Member. HM Treasury has received unusually high volumes of correspondence in recent months, and letters have taken longer than usual to respond to.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 25 November 2008 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent (ref: PO 5/03827/2008).

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills of  (a) 10 October 2008 in respect of Mr David Hill and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander,  (b) 13 October 2008 in respect of Castings PLC and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander and  (c) 16 October 2008 in respect of Mr Peter Sault and the Royal Bank of Scotland and Roywest Holdings.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2008,  Official Report, column 844W, on anti-social behaviour: fixed penalties, how many penalty notices for disorder have been  (a) issued and  (b) not paid for each type of offence in each of the last four years.

Maria Eagle: The number of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) issued and not paid within the suspended enforcement period in England and Wales for each year from 2004 to 2007 (latest published), broken down by offence are in the following table.
	Under the PND Scheme, recipients have 21 days in which either to pay the penalty or request a court hearing. If no action is taken, a fine of one and a half times the penalty amount is registered against an offender by the magistrates court. The overall fine payment rate at court is 87 per cent.; the courts fine registration system cannot differentiate between those fines arising from unpaid PNDs and any other fine.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to offenders of all ages and not paid( 1) , broken down by offence, in England and Wales, 2004 - 07( 2) 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Offence  Issued  Not paid  Issued  Not paid  Issued  Not paid  Issued  Not paid 
			 Wasting police time 1,171 659 2,525 1,326 3,933 2,022 3,966 2,104 
			 Misuse of public telecommunications system 117 65 405 167 909 386 1,193 523 
			 Giving false alarm to fire or rescue authority 44 26 92 43 106 63 96 41 
			 Causing harassment, alarm and distress 28,790 14,484 64,007 30,092 82,235 39,115 77,827 37,470 
			 Throwing fireworks 177 88 642 295 682 302 649 275 
			 Drunk and disorderly 26,609 11,682 37,038 16,176 43,556 18,883 46,996 20,629 
			 Criminal Damage (under £500) 1,190 509 12,168 5,172 20,620 9,269 19,946 8,874 
			 Theft (retail under £200) 2,072 1,202 21,997 12,940 38,772 22,603 45,146 26,035 
			 Breach of fireworks curfew 12 2 33 15 53 19 39 14 
			 Possession of category 4 firework 12 7 13 8 28 16 22 12 
			 Possession of adult firework by person under 18 20 10 47 18 76 25 106 39 
			 Sale of alcohol to drunken person — — 32 8 47 12 81 17 
			 Supply of alcohol to person under 18 — — 3 1 60 7 54 13 
			 Sale of alcohol to person under 18 113 39 2,058 253 3,195 439 3,583 509 
			 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 84 29 170 64 407 139 555 235 
			 Purchase alcohol for person under 18 for consumption on premises — — 83 24 60 21 64 33 
			 Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 20 11 209 81 297 121 431 163 
			 Trespass on a railway 96 48 220 123 1,042 491 1,527 747 
			 Throwing stones at a train/railway 66 31 20 7 15 9 25 12 
			 Drunk in a highway 2,497 1,264 3,138 1,469 2,712 1,279 2,066 920 
			 Consumption of alcohol in public place 485 372 712 544 1,061 809 1,544 1,216 
			 Littering 51 26 737 369 1,169 576 1,374 669 
			 Consumption of alcohol by person under 18 on relevant premises 7 4 84 18 75 20 85 18 
			 Allowing consumption of alcohol by person under 18 on relevant premises 6 3 27 13 14 4 11 2 
			 Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by person under 18 — — 21 8 73 21 158 49 
			 Total—all offences 63,639 30,561 146,481 69,234 201,197 96,651 207,544 100,619 
			 (1) Not paid = not paid within the suspended enforcement period. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Departmental Procurement

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 744W, on departmental procurement, if he will place in the Library a list of names and addresses of the payees.

Shahid Malik: The previous answer identified that the payee supplier database held approximately 144,000 records. It contains the details of a large number of individuals and these payees cannot easily be separated. It is not possible at this time to deposit this information in the Library of the House of Commons, without including details of individuals. Creating an IT solution to eliminate individuals data and sensitive data could not be completed without incurring disproportionate cost.

Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were in prison in England and Wales for non-payment of fixed penalty notices on  (a) 1 April 2006,  (b) 1 April 2007 and  (c) 1 April 2008.

Jack Straw: Where recipients of some fixed penalty notices neither pay the penalty nor request a court hearing a fine is registered against them and enforced as any other fine. The number of these fines which result in committal to prison for fine default is not separately recorded. The number of all fine defaulters detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales at the end of March in each of the years 2006 and 2008 is given in the following table:
	
		
			  As at 31 March each year  Number 
			 2006 102 
			 2007 83 
			 2008 88 
		
	
	This information can also be found in the following website, which is updated monthly:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	The figures provided have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Compensation

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008,  Official Report, column 1023W, on prisoners: compensation, how many prisoners have instigated legal proceedings against his Department or its agencies under the Human Rights Act 1998 since the Act came into force.

Jack Straw: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Many prisoners instigate legal proceedings, of these a proportion include reference to alleged breaches of human rights. In some cases the claim will be brought wholly on a Human Rights Act (HRA) basis and in others an HRA basis of claim will be one of a number of alleged grounds of claim. Whether HRA is relied upon entirely, or in part, or not at all legal proceedings, is to a considerable extent a choice of approach on the part of the claimant's lawyers as there is a considerable overlap between pre-existing domestic law rights and human rights.

Children: Protection

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to protect children in schools from abuse in the last 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: The Government are committed to improving safeguards for children and has taken a range of actions over the past year. This includes making significant progress towards the implementation of the new vetting and barring scheme, which will further strengthen the system for preventing unsuitable adults from working with children, including in schools. In October 2008 Sir Roger Singleton, chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, was asked to lead a review of safeguarding arrangements in independent school, non-maintained special schools and boarding schools. The review will examine the practical operation of the current statutory and non-statutory safeguarding arrangements that apply to independent schools, non-maintained special schools and boarding schools in the maintained, non-maintained and independent sectors in England. Sir Roger expects to conclude his work in February 2009.
	In April 2008, Ministers wrote to local authorities and schools to remind them of their responsibilities in relation to the issue of forced marriage and of the materials and guidance already available. In June new materials on forced marriage were launched specifically for schools and for young people. These were sent to all secondary schools, pupil referral units, local authorities and Local Safeguarding Children Boards. New statutory guidance on forced marriage was launched on 25 November.
	Within schools, staff have powers to bar people from their premises if they consider them a threat or a nuisance. The DCSF, in addition, has an ongoing programme of work to prevent and tackle the bullying of children. This includes a suite of overarching and specialist guidance for schools under the title "Safe To Learn" which advises schools on preventing and tackling bullying related to race, religion, special educational needs, disability, homophobia and cyberbullying. New guidance on out-of-school bullying is to be launched in February 2009. The Department is also funding the Anti-Bullying Alliance and National Strategies to ensure this work is embedded in schools effectively.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 635-36W, on general certificate of secondary education, which qualifications other than GCSEs were included as equivalents.

Jim Knight: All level 2 qualifications approved under section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act (2000) contribute towards the reported performance at key stage 4.
	Some of the most prevalent qualifications at each level of study are given as follows:
	GCSE in Vocational Subjects
	GNVQs
	Entry Level Qualifications
	VRQ
	Key Skills
	NVQ
	Basic Skills
	BTEC First Diploma
	BTEC First Certificate
	FSMQs
	AS Level
	Vocational AS Level
	For a more exhaustive list of equivalent qualifications and the size of their contributions can be found at QCA's National Database of Accredited Qualifications website at:
	http://www.ndaq.org.uk

Social Services: Parents

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Parent Support Advisers there are in England.

Beverley Hughes: Parent Support Advisors (PSAs) are one of a range of professionals employed by schools, local authorities or other organisations to work in and across schools to support parents and help them to engage in their child's learning. They can help tackle pupil underachievement, remove barriers to learning and provide access to a full range of learning activities for parents.
	Local authorities report that there are 2,254 PSAs (or equivalents) in post. These posts are funded through a variety of routes locally and this Government committed an additional £102.5 million between 2008 and 2011 to expand the availability of PSA support to parents.

Young Offenders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of inmates in young offender institutions previously had looked-after status in each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: Data on the number of young people in YOIs who have been looked after by local authorities earlier in their childhood is not collected centrally.
	However, we can say that of the 59,500 young people looked after by local authorities at 31 March 2008, 130 were placed in a young offender institute (YOI) or prison. This is equivalent to 0.22 per cent. of the total number of looked after children.
	The following table shows the data collected since 2004.
	
		
			  Year to 31 March:  Total number of looked after children  Number placed  in YOI 
			 2004 61,200 140 
			 2005 61,000 110 
			 2006 60,300 140 
			 2007 60,000 150 
			 2008 59,500 130 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from table A3 of the latest Statistical First Release 'Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008' which is available on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000810/index.shtml

Vocational Training: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people were entered for each publicly-recognised vocational qualification in the last year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: We do not hold enrolment data on publicly recognised vocational qualifications. Data on achievements of vocational qualifications is available at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000773/index.shtml

Carbon Emissions: EU Action

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his remarks on a durable funding mechanism for carbon capture and storage (CCS) of 9 December 2008,  Official Report, column 416, if he will  (a) place in the Library a copy of the background papers supporting this initiative and  (b) place in the Library and publish on the appropriate departmental website a copy of the full proposals for the CCS funding mechanism once it has been considered at the European Council meeting to which he made reference.

Gillian Merron: The compromise text resulting from the agreement at the European Council, as drafted by the French presidency, has still to undergo a vote in Plenary in the European Parliament, so it would be inappropriate to publish it at present. Should the European Parliament adopt the proposals as drafted, they will be published by the Commission in due course. Following publication we will place a copy in the Library.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 336-7W, on Government Departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by  (a) his Department and  (b) computers in the offices of its (i) Ministers, (ii) communications officials and (iii) special advisers.

Gillian Merron: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard information security practice not to publish internal internet protocol (IP) addresses. When accessing internet websites, the IP addresses of all of the computers on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's internal office IT system are hidden behind publicly available IP addresses; including 195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209. These IP addresses are shared with other Government Departments that use the Government Secure Intranet.

Abortion: Down's Syndrome

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to repeal the provision of the Abortion Act 1968 allowing women to terminate a pregnancy if their child has Down's syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is accepted parliamentary practice that proposals for amendments to the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, come from back bench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government have no plans to change the law on abortion.
	One of the grounds for an abortion is:
	"that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped."
	Parliament did not define serious handicap in the Act. Indeed, it chose to leave this to the expert judgment of the two doctors involved, who are required to form their own opinion about the seriousness of the handicap the child would suffer if born, taking into account the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

Beverley Community Hospital

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust has spent on finding a new location for Beverley Community Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) to plan, develop and improve health services for their local residents.
	The East Riding of Yorkshire PCT was awarded £20 million from the community hospital development fund to help towards the overall cost of the development of three community hospitals in the East Riding, at Beverley, Hornsea and Driffield. It is for the PCT to manage the costs involved in developing this scheme.

Carers

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of statutory rights for carers.

Phil Hope: One of the commitments in the National Carers' strategy, "Carers at the heart of 21(st) century families and communities", is to provide every carer with the opportunity to access comprehensive and locally specific information when they need it.
	We are establishing 'Carers Direct', an information service which will provide, via a website and a helpline, access to the information needed by carers, including issues around their statutory rights.
	The web-element of the service will be launched—in limited form—at the end of January 2009, it will be in full form by the end of March 2009. The helpline—which will be available by phone, e-mail and mail—will go live in April 2009 and reach full capacity in July 2009.
	The Government are making £2.8 million a year available to support this service.

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 675-76W, on contaminated blood and blood products inquiry, how many of the documents discovered in unregistered files and subsequently withheld from release under exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act were also withheld from release from the documents returned to his Department's solicitors in May 2006 by Blackett, Hart and Pratt.

Dawn Primarolo: Around 4,500 documents were discovered in unregistered files, and 35 were withheld from release under exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act, as set out in my answer of 30 June 2008,  Official Report, column 652W. One document was withheld from release from around 600 documents returned by a firm of private solicitors. The one document withheld from those returned by private solicitors was also among those withheld from documents found in unregistered files. The document was withheld under section 40 (personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Elderly: Abuse

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 144W, on elderly: abuse, which local authority reported in each of the 15 serious case reviews; and for each such authority how many serious case reviews there have been in each of the last four years.

Phil Hope: The serious case review reports and reports that were similar in nature but were not titled serious case reviews, were considered on a confidential basis. Local councils took part, on the agreement and understanding that the names of the councils involved and the reports not in the public domain would remain anonymous. The Department must therefore respect this arrangement. All participants in this research were assured of anonymity.

Health Centres: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made since 21 July 2008 in the disposal of his interest in the former NHS health centre in Saxon Square, Christchurch.

Ben Bradshaw: Negotiations are currently in hand with the landlord for a surrender of the lease at the earliest opportunity.

Health Professions: Career Structure

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals for modernising scientific careers proposals on  (a) the funding of BSc level qualifications and  (b) the number of students opting for a BSc level qualification in healthcare science.

Ann Keen: We do not believe that the Modernising Scientific Careers proposals will have any effect on the funding of BSc level qualifications which are funded by the United Kingdom Higher Education Funding Councils through their block grant to higher education institutions.
	Data is not available to estimate the number of students registered on degree programmes as there is no single degree in healthcare science.

Hospitals: Disinfectants

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will discourage NHS trusts from procuring quaternary ammonium based products for use as disinfectants in NHS hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department will continue to stress the need to use appropriate disinfectant materials. Choice of disinfectants is a local matter.

Influenza: Vaccination

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to publicise availability of influenza vaccination in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham) on 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 682W. The publicity for the seasonal flu campaign carried out by the Department is national, rather than regional.

NHS: Buildings

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average percentage of the occupied floor area of  (a) each NHS trust's buildings and  (b) all NHS trusts' buildings in England were in physical condition (i) C and (ii) D in each year since 1996-97.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Department collects data on the percentage of occupied floor area that is below Estatecode condition B annually from national health service trusts through its Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC). This data is not amended centrally and therefore its accuracy is the responsibility of the contributing NHS organisations.
	The percentage of the occupied floor area that is below Estatecode condition B has been collected since 2001-02. The information relating to 2001-02 onwards has been placed in the Library.
	NHS organisations are locally responsible for the provision and maintenance of their buildings and facilities.

Respite Care: Havering

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the £150 million funding awarded by his Department for respite to carers will be allocated to the London Borough of Havering.

Phil Hope: The £150 million funding announced in the Carer's Strategy is included in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 primary care trust (PCT) revenue allocations, announced on 8 December 2008. This money will go to all PCTs and will support all carers. The actual level of spend in each year is for PCTs to decide locally in the light of their local circumstances and priorities, as set out in the NHS Operating Framework and Vital Signs.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds of 30 June 2008,  Official Report, column 710WA, on alcoholic drinks: young people, how many penalty notices for disorder for the offence of selling alcohol to a person aged under 18 years were issued to persons aged 16 years and over in England and Wales in 2007, broken down by police force area; and how many such notices remain unpaid.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 18 December 2009
	Data showing the number of penalty notices for disorder issued for the offence of "Selling alcohol to a person aged under 18" broken down into numbers paid, court hearing requests and fine registered in England and Wales, in 2007 by police force area are in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder paid in full( 1)  and unpaid( 2)  relating to all persons aged 16 and over, for the offence of "Selling alcohol to a person aged under 18" by police force area and outcome, England and Wales, 2007( 3, 4) 
			  Force  Number paid  in full( 1)  Total unpaid( 2) 
			 Avon and Somerset 54 6 
			 Bedfordshire 12 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 21 1 
			 Cheshire 24 2 
			 Cleveland 57 8 
			 Cumbria 38 2 
			 Derbyshire 79 22 
			 Devon and Cornwall 62 7 
			 Dorset 34 1 
			 Durham 24 1 
			 Essex 104 7 
			 Gloucestershire 80 6 
			 Greater Manchester 126 15 
			 Hampshire 185 20 
			 Hertfordshire 60 7 
			 Humberside 81 17 
			 Kent 19 4 
			 Lancashire 154 36 
			 Leicestershire 127 23 
			 Lincolnshire 46 8 
			 London, City of 0 0 
			 Merseyside 148 27 
			 Metropolitan Police 270 71 
			 Norfolk 28 8 
			 Northamptonshire 18 4 
			 Northumbria 56 11 
			 North Yorkshire 20 5 
			 Nottinghamshire 136 32 
			 South Yorkshire 132 27 
			 Staffordshire 60 7 
			 Suffolk 17 3 
			 Surrey 63 9 
			 Sussex 99 20 
			 Thames Valley 117 14 
			 Warwickshire 34 3 
			 West Mercia West 34 2 
			 Midlands West 120 15 
			 Yorkshire 137 24 
			 Wiltshire 22 2 
			 Dyfed-Powys 19 1 
			 Gwent 61 10 
			 North Wales 50 13 
			 South Wales 46 7 
			 England & Wales 3,074 509 
			 (1) Includes PNDs paid in full within 21 days and paid in full outside 21 days. (2 )Includes PNDs fine registered, these cancelled, those where a court hearing has been requested, those for potential prosecution and those where the outcome is unknown (3 )Includes the following statute and corresponding offence description  Sale of alcohol anywhere to a person under 18. s. 146(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 (4 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions of people aged 10 to 17 years for being drunk and disorderly there were in  (a) Stockport Metropolitan Borough,  (b) Greater Manchester and  (c) the North West in each year since 1997.

Alan Campbell: The number of persons aged 10 to 17 years proceeded against at magistrates courts for being drunk and disorderly in the Greater Manchester police force area and the north west region, from 1997 to 2007, the latest available, are given in table 1.
	The statistics for those persons proceeded against relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Available information on the number penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged 16 to 17 for being drunk and disorderly are given in table 2 from 2004, when the scheme commenced, to 2007.
	Court proceedings and PND data collected centrally are available at police force area level only; therefore data for Stockport metropolitan borough cannot be supplied.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of persons aged 10 to 17 proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences of being drunk and disorderly( 1 ) in the Greater Manchester police force area and the north west region( 2) ,  1997 to 2007( 3, 4) 
			   Greater Manchester police force area  North west region 
			   Persons aged 10-17 
			 1997 55 556 
			 1998 65 489 
			 1999 62 501 
			 2000 106 587 
			 2001 93 580 
			 2002 77 554 
			 2003 67 568 
			 2004 47 416 
			 2005 25 230 
			 2006 21 252 
			 2007 31 344 
			 (1 )Data includes the following offence descriptions and corresponding statutes:  Being found drunk in a highway or other public place, whether a building or not, or on licensed premises—Licensing Act 1872, section 12;  Being guilty while drunk of disorderly behaviour—Criminal Justice Act 1967, section 91. (2 )Includes, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside police force areas. (3 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (4 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged 16 to 17 years for offences of being drunk and disorderly in the Greater Manchester police force area and the north west region( 1) , 2004( 2)  to 2007( 3) . 
			   Greater Manchester police force area  North west region 
			   Persons aged 16 to 17 years 
			 2004 7 500 
			 2005 45 880 
			 2006 32 940 
			 2007 36 953 
			 (1) Includes, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside police force areas. (2 )Commencement of the PND scheme. (3 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Border and Immigration Agency: Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) income and  (b) expenditure of the Border and Immigration Agency was in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: The total costs of the Border and Immigration Agency function (known from 2007-07 onwards as the UK Border Agency) for 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 are as follows:
	
		
			  Border and Immigration Agency (known as UK Border Agency  from 2007-08) 
			  £000 
			   2005-06  2006-07  200-08 
			  (a) Income 211,165 225,289 306,802 
			  (b) Expenditure 1,728,820 1,688,041 1,725,953

British Nationality

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 30 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 712-14W, on the British Nationality (Honorary Citizenship) Bill, if she will deposit a copy of the letter and attachments in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Departmental Manpower

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of her Department's staff are employed in the  (a) Animal (Scientific Procedures) Division,  (b) Home Office Scientific Development Branch,  (c) Research, Development and Statistics Branch,  (d) Science and Research Group Support and (e) Science Secretariat of her Department's Science and Research Group; and how many are employed by the Group in total.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the overall number of people employed within the Home Office's Science and Research group broken down by the requested units.
	Please note that the research teams are embedded within each Home Office business area rather than within the Science and Research Group and are therefore not included in these figures.
	
		
			  Headcount in Science and Research Group (SRG) 
			  SRG Unit  Main purpose  Headcount as at  31 December 2008 
			 Director Chief Scientific Advisor and office 2 
			 Animal (Scientific Procedures Division and Inspectorate) Licences all experiments which use animals and provides scientific advice to the Home Secretary and to officials who operate the licensing system. 55 
			 Home Office Scientific Development Branch Provides all the technical and scientific support and development for policing, Counter Terrorism and all other HO functions 245 
			 Economics and Resource Analysis Unit Uses economic and operational analysis, forward- looking modelling and horizon scanning to support HO decision-making 37 
			 Home Office Statistics Unit Produces HO National Statistics together with statistical information and advice on Home Office topics 70 
			 Science and Research Group Support Provides corporate support for the group and a shared service for HO and Ministry of Justice analytic teams 27 
			 Science Secretariat Provides a secretariat to the HO Science Advisory Committees and leads HO Science Strategy and planning 12 
			 Forensic Science Regulator Unit Regulates forensic science quality standards for forensic science used in the Criminal Justice System 8 
			
			 Total staff headcount  456 
			  Note: Headcount includes permanent and non-permanent staff (contractors, non-paid contractors, agency)

Departmental Manpower

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of her Department's staff are employed in the  (a) EU Section and  (b) European Near Neighbours and Wider World Section of the International Directorate; and how many are employed in the Directorate in total.

Phil Woolas: The following table provides the total number of staff employed by the International Directorate and the specific directorates requested in the
	question.
	
		
			  International Directorate  Headcount as at  31 December 2008 
			 Total staff in the International Directorate(1) 45 
			  Which includes :  
			 (a) International Directorate HQ staff(2) 33 
			 (b) Overseas Secondment Review Board(3) 10 
			 (1) Headcount includes permanent and non-permanent staff (contractors, non-paid contractors, agency). (2) Includes staff working in EU and Wider World. (3) Includes staff working mainly in the EU.

Driving Under Influence: Screening

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008, on driving under influence, what assessment her Department has made of the discrepancy between the rate  (a) at which screening tests are undertaken and  (b) of positive tests; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The police can require a person to take a screening breath test if they reasonably suspect that person of drink driving, or of committing a moving traffic offence or of driving a vehicle involved in a road traffic accident. Use of this power is an operational matter for the police. The percentage of tests which are positive can be affected by various factors, including the numbers drink driving, the number of tests administered and where, when and on which motorists the police administer them.

Drug Seizures

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quantities of  (a) Class A,  (b) Class B and  (c) Class C drugs have been seized by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency in each of the last two years.

Alan Campbell: SOCA published details of Class A drug seizures for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08 in its last two annual reports. These reported seizures flowing from SOCA's work of in excess of 74 tonnes and 89 tonnes respectively.
	SOCA has not published details of class B or class C interdictions in general but has provided details of cannabis interdictions in its last two annual reports. The 2006-07 Annual Report stated that 10 tonnes of cannabis was seized as a result of UK-based operations. The 2007-08 Annual Report stated that 30 tonnes of cannabis was seized as a result of both UK and overseas based operations.

Drug Seizures

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) publishes guidance to assist its officers on the circumstances in which a drugs seizure conducted by another agency is to be treated as having been made principally as a result of SOCA activity and information supplied by SOCA.

Alan Campbell: SOCA provides its officers with clear guidance on the recording of drugs seizures, to ensure they are recorded only in cases where SOCA has direct responsibility, or where the seizure was made principally as a result of information provided by SOCA.
	Drug seizures that are included in SOCA totals for management information purposes must have emanated from tasked SOCA operations. The circumstances in which seizures made by other agencies are also included are:
	where another agency is asked to carry out the seizure on behalf of SOCA for reasons of operational sensitivity; or
	where SOCA does not have the power to seize drugs but passes information onto another (usually foreign) law enforcement agency to enable the seizure to be effected.

Extradition: Human Rights

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often the Government reviews its bilateral extradition treaties to take into account changing human rights situations in the countries with which the treaties have been agreed.

Meg Hillier: The Extradition Act 2003 contains robust human rights safeguards. If the district judge in the UK decides that to order a person's extradition would result in a flagrant breach of the person's convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998, the judge must order the person's discharge from extradition proceedings.

Genetics: Databases

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the prison population in England and Wales has a profile on the national DNA database.

Jacqui Smith: The purpose of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is to match DNA profiles taken from individuals with those taken from crime scenes. It therefore holds only the information necessary for this function, and does not contain criminal records or information on whether those on it are in prison.
	There are good reasons for believing that the great majority of the prison population has a profile on the NDNAD. Police forces have had the power to retain DNA taken from those convicted of recordable offences since the establishment of the DNA database in 1995. For the first few years this power was exercised in relation to more serious offenders, but from 2000 onwards additional funding was made available under the DNA expansion programme to make it standard practice to take samples from all offenders. In April 2004, an amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into effect which extended powers to take DNA samples to all those arrested for recordable offences. Following this, taking a DNA sample in the custody suite has become routine procedure. In addition, two prisoner sampling projects have been undertaken, most recently in 2003, to take DNA from any prisoner who had not already been sampled, for example because they had been imprisoned before DNA sampling was widely practiced.
	Nevertheless, we are determined to ensure that the most serious offenders are on the NDNAD. On 16 December 2008 I announced that we will work with the police to continue to increase the number of convicted offenders on the NDNAD. This will focus on those convicted of serious offences and will include taking DNA from offenders in prison for rape and murder not already on the NDNAD.

Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government has spent on raising awareness of human trafficking in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Raising awareness of human trafficking is central to our approach to combating human trafficking. This is an issue that is being led by the UK Human Trafficking Centre through the development of its Blue Blindfold campaign and its work to increase awareness among law enforcement agencies. Any costs associated with this work has been met from within the overall budget of the UKHTC. Additionally, much work has been undertaken to raise awareness within the relevant law enforcement and other agencies which are likely to come into contact with victims of human trafficking. The costs associated with this work have been met from within existing budgets.
	In addition to these costs we have spent £136,000 on raising awareness through a project run in conjunction with the International Organisation for Migration in Romania and Bulgaria and on the "Walk in a Punter" poster campaign in Nottingham and London in 2008.

Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has provided for funding human trafficking investigations in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Since 2006 we have invested a total of £4.646 million in the law enforcement response to human trafficking. This includes the doubling of the budget for the UK Human Trafficking Centre from £843,000 to £1.7 million for this year, £1.7 million to the Metropolitan Police for Operation Maxim, including their human trafficking team in 2007-08, the fund of £1.678 million this year which is administered by ACPO and the £435,000 for the MPS to assist them in the their effort to mainstream the work of the trafficking into their existing budget.
	The Serous Organised Crime Agency receive a total of £400 million in order to combat organised crime including that focused on immigration related matters such as human trafficking. This work is being taken forward through the co-ordination of two inter-agency programmes of activity to reduce such crime at source and key points overseas and to reduce the exploitation of migrants within the UK. Additionally, we provided a total of £60 million under Reflex for time limited projects to tackle organised immigration crime under the 2002 spending review period.
	Human trafficking is core police business and as such forces are expected to meet operational costs of undertaking this work from within existing budgets. Historically, we provided a central funding stream to encourage forces to increase their efforts on organised immigration crime, including human trafficking.
	It is not possible to disaggregate this funding to give an accurate figure for the amount dedicated to human trafficking work for the period 2004 to 2006.

Identity Cards: Government Departments

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on the likely levels of take-up of identity (ID) card verification across Government; what estimate she has made of the number of agencies which expect to use ID card verification when the scheme is rolled out; and how many separate locations in each agency are likely to need an ID card reader;
	(2)  which of her Department's agencies she expects to use identity card verification when the scheme is rolled out; and what estimate she has made of the number of separate locations in each agency which will require an identity card reader.

Jacqui Smith: Identity cards will make it easier for individuals to prove their identity quickly, securely and reliably when using public services. A key purpose of the National Identity Register, as laid out in the Identity Cards Act, is to help identity verification so as to secure the efficient and effective provision of public services. Details of the secondary legislation needed to introduce identity cards and for information to be provided from the Register is set out in "Identity Cards Act Secondary Legislation: A Consultation" which may be found at:
	http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/NIS_Legislation.pdf
	Government agencies will all be able to make use of identity cards to verify identity through a visual check, as they do now for passports. It will be a matter for individual agencies to determine at what point in the future there is a case for the introduction of any further systems which might include identity card readers. The Identity and Passport Service will continue to work with other Government Departments to establish how each organisation may make the best use of the National Identity Scheme.

Language Analysis

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 9 December 2008,  Official Report, column 48WS, on language analysis, what percentage of persons claiming asylum from Eritrea and Somalia who were subject to language analysis had their claim refused on the basis of language analysis; and what estimate her Department has made of the likely effect of the introduction of language analysis on applications from Afghan nationals.

Phil Woolas: No asylum claim from a person claiming to be of Eritrean or Somali nationality has been refused on the basis of language analysis alone. Language analysis is a tool used by asylum case-owners in the UK Border Agency to help in the decision making process. It is only one of several factors that contribute to grant or refusal.
	Where there is a suspicion that a person claiming to be from Afghanistan is not an Afghan national that person will be asked to take part in a language analysis interview. It is anticipated that language analysis will identify Afghan claimants who are in fact nationals of other countries and that this procedure will deter others from making false claims of Afghan nationality.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford's letter of 27 October 2008 regarding his constituent Ms Sharon Singizi of Chelmsford.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 16 January 2009.

Metropolitan Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Association of Chief Police Officers members at the rank of commander and above in the Metropolitan Police have been the subject of criminal or disciplinary investigations since January 2005; and which such officers have been suspended from duty following such investigation.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold this information. This is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated value of assets in cases adopted for civil recovery or tax action from other law enforcement agencies by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency was in  (a) Northern Ireland and  (b) the UK in the first six months of this financial year.

Alan Campbell: The Serious Organised Crime Agency estimates the potential value of assets when adopting a case for civil recovery, but does not collate these data as a performance indicator. It would be time consuming to collate these data manually from case files and this would be of no operational value. The first stage in a case at which SOCA reports on the estimated value of assets is when they are frozen or under restraint. Information on frozen and restrained assets will be published in SOCA's annual report.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many cases were referred to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency by other law enforcement agencies for civil recovery or taxation investigation in  (a) Northern Ireland and  (b) the UK in the first six months of 2008-09;
	(2)  what the value of assets restrained in cases which the Serious and Organised Crime Agency has adopted in the first six months of 2008-09 in  (a) Northern Ireland and  (b) the UK;
	(3)  in how many cases adopted by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency action has been taken to restrain assets in  (a) the UK and  (b) Northern Ireland, in the first six months of 2008-09.

Alan Campbell: Figures relating to the Serious Organised Crime Agency's UK-wide asset recovery performance for the financial year 2008-09 are subject to internal validation and will be included in their annual report for 2008-09, when published.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been referred to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) by law enforcement agencies in England and Wales for criminal confiscation investigation in  (a) Northern Ireland and  (b) nationwide in the first six months of 2008-09; in how many of those cases SOCA has agreed to adoption for such investigation and action; what the estimated value of the assets in the cases adopted for civil recovery or tax action from other law enforcement agencies is; in how many such cases action has already been taken to restrain assets; and what the value of assets restrained in such cases is.

Alan Campbell: Under the provisions of the Serious Crime Act 2007, the Serious Organised Crime Agency was not given the remit or powers to assist partner agencies with criminal confiscation cases in the same way as the Assets Recovery Agency. As a consequence SOCA is not in a position to support partner agencies by taking criminal case referrals in the same way that ARA did. SOCA considers requests from partners for advice or investigative assistance in criminal confiscation cases on a case-by-case basis, but there is no referral or adoption process.
	ARA's criminal confiscation cases were transferred to SOCA with the merger. SOCA has retained ARA's full powers in relation to these specific cases, up until the point of the completion. SOCA does not however have ARA's full powers in relation to criminal confiscation cases for SOCA-initiated cases.

UK Border Agency: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the UK Border Agency to reply to the letter of 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Walsall North, reference 1032165 and CTS 822098/8.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 15 January 2009
	The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 12 January 2009.